This is our full review of the Tronsmart Brio 20,100 mAh Power Bank with USB-C Power Delivery. The perfect power bank for fast charging Google Pixel, Samsung Galaxy S9 / Note 9, MacBook Pro and many other devices with USB Type-C!

The fast charging technology on our smartphones and other devices has changed a lot over the last few years. If you look around, almost every new Android phone is coming out with a USB-C slot. Previously, fast charging tech was only available to devices that had a Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset on them. But now, phones and many laptops i.e. MacBook, Chromebook have started taking full advantage of the speed and power USB-C offers. Why? That is because of Power Delivery with USB-C.

I searched high and low for a power bank that was fully compatible with my Google Pixel 2 XL with fast charging support. There are a handful of power banks only that come with full USB-C with Power Delivery support. Anker was my first option to get, but since that was not available in my local market, I ended up looking for other brands that offered Power Delivery. This is where I came across the Tronsmart Brio portable charger. With no reviews available online, I decided to make the jump and try it out myself.

Tronsmart Brio 20,100 mAh Power Bank Review

Power banks have become an essential part of our lives. We use our smartphones a lot, every day. And not all of them are able to keep up with our usage because of limited battery capacity. In most cases, you end up with no battery juice in your phone by the evening. That is precisely why I went for the Tronsmart Brio portable charger. Let’s see what it has to offer.

Tronsmart is not a well-known brand like Anker, but the fact they make a wide range of electronics show they are in for the long game. Among many other things, they have a complete range of power banks in several sizes. Brio is just one model in that series.

What’s Inside The Box:

Once you unbox the power bank, you will find the following items inside the packaging:

Tronsmart Brio 20,100 mAh Power Bank

0.3m USB Type-C to USB Type-C cable

0.3m USB-A to Micro USB cable

Travel pouch

User manual

Warranty card

Design

The one reviewed here has a capacity of 20,100 mAh and let’s be honest, it doesn’t have the slimmest of designs. My primary usage of a power bank was to be kept in a backpack, so it fits well for me. It has an arc design which offers a comfortable grip even if you are holding the power bank while it charges your device.

The entire power bank is made up of plastic, similar to how most power banks are. However, the build still feels solid. There are now weak or lose parts on it as it has a full top and bottom. The top consists of 4 LED lights which indicate how much juice is left in the power bank. On the right side, there is a button that you need to press for the charger to start charging itself.

Tronsmart Brio comes with two USB-A slots and a USB-C slot with PD support. The latter is used to charge other devices as well as for charging the power bank once it is out of battery juice. It is very easy to use this power bank. Charging starts automatically once you connect your device with it. To charge the power bank itself, you just have to plug in the USB-C cable into its slot. Then press and hold the side button for about 3 seconds for it to start charging the portable charger.

Power

One feature that I really like about this power bank is the 30W of power it can deliver to a device. I can easily charge my Google Pixel 2 XL, Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and the MacBook Pro with it. Ideally you need to have a 60W charger for the MacBook Pro, but a 30W power bank works well if you are not around an adapter. It will charge slow, but gets the job done. To top this all, the Tronsmart Brio can deliver up to 54W max power across all its three ports!

Here are the power input and output specs supported by the Tronsmart Brio:

Input:

USB Type-C: (up to 30W max) 5V/3A, 9V/3A, 12V/2.5A, 15V/2A, 20V/1.5A

One of the best things about this power bank is that Tronsmart Brio supports USB PD for input and output. That means, while this charger charges your devices fast, you can also top it up at a fast speed because of Power Delivery. You just need to charge the Brio with a USB-C PD charger and it will reach 100% battery in just 4.5 hours.Make sure you have a USB-C adapter with Power Delivery to take full advantage of the speed.

Output:

USB Type-C: 5V/3A, 9V/3A, 12V/2.5A, 15V/2A, 20V/1.5A (up to 30W max)

USB-A (VoltiQ Port 1): 5V/2.4A

USB-A (VoltiQ Port 2): 5V/2.4A

In my tests with a USB-C power meter, the Tronsmart Brio indeed delivers full 30W of power to the MacBook Pro when charging. And just to mention it, the Power Delivery chipset used in this power bank is the same one as the MacBook Pro (Cypress PD chipset).

Tronsmart Brio can give about 3 full charges to the Google Pixel 2 XL with its 3520 mAh battery. Similarly, laptops like the MacBook Pro has a much bigger battery so you can expect a 1-2 full charges with this portable charger.

The other two USB-A ports on the Brio power bank support something called VoltiQ, that each do 5V at 2.4A max. I haven’t tested them myself, but they basically provide a higher current / power than standard USB chargers.

Conclusion

The Tronsmart Brio 20,100 mAh power bank offers plenty of battery power for your Power Delivery compatible devices. So if you have phones or a laptop that uses USB-C PD and you need a portable charger for when you are on the go, this is the one. This charger is built up to the specs to charge all latest Android phones, laptops and even the new iPhones!